Caera Taylor got her introduction to biomedical research while in her undergraduate studies at Mississippi State University, studying the effects of acute cannabidiol (CBD) exposure to the innate immune response in juvenile rat brains. Under Dr. Russell Carr, this work combined behavioral analysis and RT-qPCR using various brain immune cell markers, with results suggesting that CBD exposure potentiated decreases in macrophage activation and astrocyte regulation in developing brains.
Following graduation, the Mandeville, La., native continued honing her love of science while working in St. Jude’s Center for Advanced Genome Engineering (CAGE) under Dr. Shondra Pruett-Miller. As a researcher in the CAGE, Taylor utilized established CRISPR-Cas systems and aided in the development of novel gene editing applications, ultimately offering collaborative expertise and support to fellow St. Jude investigators.
Taylor also interned in the North Mississippi Medical Center’s Physician Shadowing Program in June 2023, where she gained hands-on experience engaging with physicians and medical staff of 16 diverse medical specialties in both hospital and clinic settings. She also volunteered as an undergraduate research associate in the lab of Dr. Mary Dozier in Mississippi State University’s Department of Psychology, studying the perceived locus of control for adult hoarding symptoms by focusing on various reasons for clutter as well as the extent to which each reason is judged as responsible for behavior.
Taylor’s time working in the St. Jude CAGE, where every project promoted the development of preclinical models for further investigation of diseases and therapeutic discovery drove her motivation for continued scientific maturation. She aspires to combine her passions for biochemistry and psychology by expanding her understanding of the intricacies presented by neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease modeling for therapeutic development. Maintaining the same values she adopted while serving as a researcher, Taylor now works to advance her training in the St. Jude Graduate School’s PhD in Biomedical Sciences program so that she may better serve others.
Hometown: Mandeville, LA
Education:
2023 BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Concentration in Pre-Med) and Psychology – Mississippi State University
Awards/Honors/Scholarships:
2023 Summa Cum Laude, Mississippi State University
2023 Stephen D. Lee Scholar, Mississippi State University
Publications:
Dozier, M.E., Nix, C.A., Taylor, C., Pyles, K., Mejia, N., & Kalchbrenner, R. (2022). Perceived locus of control for clutter: Reported reasons for clutter in adults with and without hoarding symptoms. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(2), 306-312. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12332